A traditional jump rope mainly comprises a rope and a pair of handles where the rope exits the end of the handle. While jumping rope the handles are held by the user and do not rotate in the user's hands but rather the rope rotates independent of the handles. Under this circumstance, the rotational friction and drag that are generated limit the maximum rotational speed of the rope. In speed competitions, is it desirable to have a jump rope with the highest rotational speed. Further, this requires a rope with the least amount of friction and air resistance to achieve the highest number of rotations in the least amount of time.
Jumping rope is an activity that is not only considered suitable for competition or recreation, but also provides a beneficial workout, similar to jogging or cycling. Jumping rope has been shown to achieve a “burn rate” of up to 700 calories per hour of vigorous activity, with about 0.1 calories consumed per jump. Ten minutes of jumping rope is roughly the equivalent of running an eight-minute mile.
Although jumping rope can be an excellent source of aerobic activity, depending on the choice of rope, some ropes exhibit failures such as handle separations, fraying of cables, and burrs after being cut to length making them not suited for the long term use that would occur with users relying on jumping rope for consistent aerobic activity. The exposed ends of the rope can also present a safety concern during use if not properly trimmed after sizing. Therefore, it is also desirable to have a rope whose ends are protected and captured within the head of the jump rope handles.
Another common problem with existing jump ropes is exhibited when the ropes ends are fixed at the rotational component or head of each handle and are not permitted to rotate freely within the head of the jump rope. Under this circumstance, undesirable torque can be built into the rope when the handles are inadvertently rotated perpendicular to the point where the rope accesses the handle unit. This torque in the rope presents a problem during use, as the ropes rotation is no longer uniform making it difficult to predict the rope placement while jumping rope. Therefore, it is desirable to have a rope whose ends are free to rotate about an axis formed by the centerline of the rope body. Existing jump ropes have attempted to address this problem by placing a collar or stop at each end of the rope. In these collar or stop type designs, the jump rope meets the intent of avoiding toque build up in the rope, but presents a new problem with the jump rope handles not remaining fixed to each end of the rope. The result is one or more handles displaced along the length of the rope with excess rope extended beyond the handle component, making the rope not equipped for jumping.